Our financial system is crumbling this week.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

I think this has been discussed. The problem is 1. Computers/robots and 2. scared workers doing extra/the work of more than 1 person.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Anecdotally speaking, pre-2008, the company I work for had a goal of having 350 employees and a gross revenue of 35 million (100k per employee). Upon acheiving that, the goal was 350 employees and like 40 million inbrevenue. Well, [expletive] hit the fan and now we have I dunno about 300 employees and a revenue of over 35 million and thr target revenue per employee has changed to 125k per year.

I asked our CEO why the change. His answer was simple. Technology has enabled us to be more efficient. And he's right. Civil 3d allows a lot of our jobs to be completed in 75% of the time or so that old eagle point software would take. Architects have revit or something like that doing the same. Surveyors have seen the biggest changes, imo, in how quickly they can set up and accurate they can be.

It's not that the company just drives its employees harder, they don't. They hire people when needed, its just that 1 surveyor/architect/engineer can do more work in a week now than 5 years ago. About 25-50% more.

In short I find it disingenuous to say corporations are evil, driving slaves, and evilly hoarding money. In a lot of cases, they're just more efficient as times change, and that means higher profits. Obviously.

My company otoh is still paying back the 3-5 million or so they borrowed trying.to keep everyone employeed. Some day we will pay it back and start getting bonuses again. Someday.

[pioneer98]

In short I find it disingenuous to say corporations are evil, driving slaves, and evilly hoarding money. In a lot of cases, they're just more efficient as times change, and that means higher profits. Obviously.

I don't know your situation, but in general, companies used to pass down a portion of the increased profits down to employees by giving them raises or bonuses. They'd still keep most of the increase for the owners or shareholders, but at least some of it would be passed along to employees. Now, employees are lucky if their wages keep up with inflation.

We've always had productivity increases happening inside our economy, going back to the Industrial Revolution and probably even before that. Productivity increases are not new. Stagnant wages for employees is something that has just become a big problem in the last ~35 years or so, at least on a large scale.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

In short I find it disingenuous to say corporations are evil, driving slaves, and evilly hoarding money. In a lot of cases, they're just more efficient as times change, and that means higher profits. Obviously.

I don't know your situation, but in general, companies used to pass down a portion of the increased profits down to employees by giving them raises or bonuses. They'd still keep most of the increase for the owners or shareholders, but at least some of it would be passed along to employees. Now, employees are lucky if their wages keep up with inflation.

I addressed this in my second post

My company otoh is still paying back the 3-5 million or so they borrowed trying.to keep everyone employeed. Some day we will pay it back and start getting bonuses again. Someday.

In other words, 50% of net profit is distributed among the employees. It's tough to have a profit though, when they went more than 4 million in the hole to keep making payroll. How much of that was payroll and how much was other expenses, I don't know. But, they kept digging deeper until the bank essentially said, no mas. They were forced to let people go at that point. In another year or so, the debt should be gone, I believe.

We've always had productivity increases happening inside our economy, going back to the Industrial Revolution and probably even before that. Productivity increases are not new. Stagnant wages for employees is something that has just become a big problem in the last ~35 years or so, at least on a large scale.

This, especially the wage stagnation, is undoubtedly true. I don't know the answer. Sure, companies could just arbitrarily increase wages. Of course, that's going to be passed on to the client who in turn can just find antoher company that hasn't raised rates/wages....at least that's how it works in my head and may not be accurate.

[Freed Roger]

I wouldn't say the corps and big businesses are evil for being successful. They just don't deserve our pity and welfare anymore. Yet, they are pretty capable of getting it - that is one of the perks of power and wealth, whether it is overt or just natural - is controlling the state and local Boss Hoggs.

Take another look at the wealth inequality clip. Oligarchy.

We keep hearing sob stories about our high corporate tax rates and high individual tax rates on the wealthy and how it's hurting them, and thus our economy. Meanwhile corporate welfare is being extracted (state and local municipalites poaching on each other). We still have TIFs for Walmarts and Menards in St. Louis region for chrissakes, and talk of funding new stadium for the [expletive] rams.

Meanwhile, the state and local focus is on reforming public sectors and education and busting remnants of unionism. Something is out of whack.

[pioneer98]

This, especially the wage stagnation, is undoubtedly true. I don't know the answer. Sure, companies could just arbitrarily increase wages. Of course, that's going to be passed on to the client who in turn can just find antoher company that hasn't raised rates/wages....at least that's how it works in my head and may not be accurate.

Your company's situation is a bit different than a lot because of the debt load. But in general just because a company increases wages of employees does not mean they necessarily pass that directly onto their customers as a cost. That's what they tell us will happen. They could pass along that cost to stockholders, but that is sacrilege, socialism, or my favorite: "hostile towards business". So what happens is that they keep all that extra revenue for stockholders and STILL pass it onto customers as a cost. See: Health Care Industry. Whether money saved through productivity increases goes to low-level employees or to the CEO and owners, the customers are paying for it either way.

Someone pointed out that the only thing that got us out of this rut in the 1990s was that we were so close to full employment. In other words, the only thing that forced companies to actually raise wages was when there was a true shortage of workers, and they had to compete for workers with other companies on the jobs market. Somehow we need to get back to that. Laying off a gob of government employees probably is not the way.

[IMADreamer]

It's not that the companies aren't making money, it's that the money they make only goes to the top of the company. That will only continue since we have the single stupidest electorate in the world.

The solution is to start breaking up big banks, big insurance, big oil, big telecom, big media, big retail etc. Smash them into little tiny pieces. This will create competition again, something which there is none of now and will give workers choices. The best workers will go to the best companies with the best wages and worker incentives.

Prosecute the hell out of the big bankers who crashed our economy in 2008.

Unionize the service sector. I'm looking at you Wal Mart.

Nationalize the oil industry.

Enact universal single payer health care.

This country would be a 100% different and better place for the people. Which is what it should be for. Now it's only for the wealthy.

[redbirdjazzz]

It's not that the companies aren't making money, it's that the money they make only goes to the top of the company. That will only continue since we have the single stupidest electorate in the world.

The solution is to start breaking up big banks, big insurance, big oil, big telecom, big media, big retail etc. Smash them into little tiny pieces. This will create competition again, something which there is none of now and will give workers choices. The best workers will go to the best companies with the best wages and worker incentives.

Prosecute the hell out of the big bankers who crashed our economy in 2008.

Unionize the service sector. I'm looking at you Wal Mart.

Nationalize the oil industry.

Enact universal single payer health care.

This country would be a 100% different and better place for the people. Which is what it should be for. Now it's only for the wealthy.

++

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Agreed IMA. 100%

[planet planet]

It is pretty unbelievable to me that the unemployment rate was 7.8% in January 2009 and it's 7.9% in February 2013.